UKIAH, Calif. — Two people were arrested in Ukiah on suspicion of kidnapping a Sacramento woman, who claimed she had been held captive by the couple for four days.
The arrests were made after Mendocino County deputies said they spotted a vehicle driving “with multiple code violations” in the 1300 block of North State Street in Ukiah just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
A background check of the driver, 34-year-old Thao Vang of Sacramento, came back showing he had an active felony warrant out of Butte County. He was arrested without incident.
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As Vang was being arrested, deputies made contact with two other women inside the car. According to deputies, a woman in the backseat shaking and crying. They also said she had visible bruising on her body. When deputies pulled the upset woman aside to talk, they said she immediately told them she had been kidnapped by the couple four days ago.
First, the woman told police Vang and the woman, 33-year-old Christine Maxwell of Marysville, held her at a home in Sacramento where she said she was repeatedly beaten and raped. On Saturday, she said Vang and Maxwell forced her into the car and took her to Ukiah where she said she thought they planned to kill her, according to the report.
Deputies said they found evidence to support the woman’s kidnapping claim during the arrest.
Vang was booked into the Mendocino County Jail on complaints of kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment, conspiracy as well as the outstanding Butte County warrant for possession of a controlled substance while armed.
Maxwell was also booked into the Mendocino County Jail. Her charges included kidnapping and conspiracy.